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Onion is an important vegetable, without which the first and second courses are practically not prepared. Of course, you can buy it in a store, but self-grown onions do not contain any harmful substances, since the owners of the plots rarely use chemistry to fertilize the land.
Planting onions before winter in the Moscow region is one of the options for obtaining an early harvest of turnips. But in order to achieve positive results, you need to know some subtleties regarding timing, variety selection and soil preparation. This will be discussed in the article.
Benefits of autumn plantings
Onions are usually planted in spring and autumn. Although planting onions before winter in the Moscow region have much more positive aspects. Let’s figure it out:
- Buying sevok in the spring, you have to pay a lot of money, because the cost includes storage costs.
- By planting onions in the winter, the harvest in the Moscow region can be obtained almost a month earlier than with traditional spring planting.
- Since the onions are harvested in late June – early July, other fast-growing crops can be planted in the area where the bulbs were harvested. And this is an increase in yield.
- Onions planted in autumn are not damaged by such a pest as an onion fly, since by the time of work its years are over. And in the spring, when the bulbs get stronger, the pest is no longer so terrible.
- Green feathers shoot out of the ground after the snow melts and the earth warms up with the spring sun. Weeds do not keep up with the growth of onions and are not able to harm.
- Fresh onion feathers, rich in vitamins, can be cut in early May, which is very important in the Moscow region.
Of course, an excellent harvest of onions in the Moscow region or another region of Our Country is possible if the work is completed on time and the right varieties of sevka are selected. It should be noted that more and more owners of their own plots prefer planting onions in the winter.
Deciding on deadlines
Planting onions in the winter in the Moscow region practically does not differ from work in other regions of Our Country. But the timing, of course, will differ from the southern territories. The thing is that in winter frosts often fall below -20 degrees, and the snow cover does not always satisfy gardeners. Therefore, winter plantings of sevka in the Moscow region need additional shelter.
If you live in the suburbs, then when choosing the timing of planting, the sevka should begin in the second decade of September and be completed before October 25. This is the time frame to look for in 2019 as well. According to the lunar calendar, it is advised to plant on October 6-12 and 16-24. Residents of the Moscow region in 2019 can still use November 4 and 7, but these are deadlines.
Even the most experienced gardener will not be able to name the exact dates for planting in the Moscow region, since he does not know how to regulate the weather. Indeed, in different years on the same date, the climate is not the same. Snow falls one year, high temperatures the next.
The best onion varieties for winter planting
After you determine when to plant onions before winter, you need to think about the sevka variety. You need to focus on the onion zoned in the Moscow region, in this case a good harvest is guaranteed:
- sevok is able to tolerate frost;
- grows faster in spring;
- get sick less.
Top Grades
Planting onions in the fall in the Moscow region is carried out with the following planting material:
- Ellan has a round-flattened shape, the upper scales are yellow. The variety is early ripe, keeping quality for 12 months.
- Strigunovsky also refers to varieties of early ripening, the bulbs are dense, with a sharp taste.
- Arzamas is the oldest variety, there are up to three bulbs in the nest.
- Myachkovsky-300 differs in excellent transportability and keeping quality.
- Bessonovsky started growing in 1943. The bulbs are flattened, light, transportable.
- Odintsovo – a variety of medium ripening, universal purpose. 2-3 onions are formed in the nest.
- Stuttgarten Riesen grows up to 250 grams, there is a large amount of vitamin C in the bulbs.
- Bulbs Chalcedony have a sharp taste, excellent keeping quality. Scales are brown with bronze.
If you are planting onions for the first time before winter in the Moscow region, take several varieties in order to decide later which onion works best.
Where to Plant
Before planting onions for the winter in the Moscow region, as in any other region, you need to think about the location of the beds. In addition, you need to know after which crops this plant grows best.
It is not recommended to plant after:
- parsley and celery;
- potatoes and red clover;
- alfalfa.
The fact is that the root system of these plants attracts nematode larvae.
But such predecessors will help grow a rich crop of onions. So you can plant sevok after:
- beans and peas;
- corn and tomatoes;
- lettuce and mustard;
- rapeseed and cucumbers;
- all types of cabbage.
In addition, legumes and mustard will enrich the soil with easily digestible nitrogen.
The beds are ready
Ridges before sowing onions in the winter in the Moscow region are dug up, if necessary, mineral fertilizers are added, especially if the soil is depleted. Most often, ecofosca is added, for each square from 15 to 20 grams. Wood ash is added immediately before planting.
The bed is leveled, grooves are made. Despite the fact that the onion fly does not bother the bulbs, it is still advisable to dust the furrows with shag. Then spill with thick potassium permanganate.
After sorting, onion bulbs of oatmeal (diameter up to 1 cm) and sevka – (1-3 cm in diameter) are left. Planting material is carefully examined, rejecting suspicious specimens. Be sure to disinfect the seed in a solution of salt and copper sulfate. You need to keep no more than 5 minutes so that the roots do not have time to wake up.
It is necessary to plant onions before winter in a dry form, soaking is excluded, as well as pruning, so as not to bring the infection inside. In addition, water can get into the cropped top, and such planting material can simply dry out.
The scheme for planting onions before winter in the Moscow region is somewhat different. Furrows are made in increments of up to 20 cm, and the bulb itself must be deepened by 5 centimeters. In this case, the plant will be better protected from the winter cold. The sevok is planted at a distance of 5-7 cm, otherwise the bulbs will interfere with each other during growth.
Having laid the bulbs in the grooves, they are sprinkled with earth, but they do not need to be watered. If after 10 days it does not rain, then you need to slightly moisten the soil.
Before the onset of frost, the beds with onions grown in the regions of central Our Country must be mulched with straw, hay, needles, sawdust or dry leaves. Thanks to this shelter, heat is retained, which means that the first frosts will not damage the bulbs.
And, of course, to grow a rich crop of onions in the Moscow region, you need to listen to the weather forecast. If weather forecasters do not promise snow in the near future, then you will have to make additional shelter with the help of a film. When heavy snowfalls begin, this covering material will have to be removed.
An interesting video about planting onions before winter:
To summarize
Many gardeners living in the Moscow region and other regions of central Our Country do not risk planting onions before winter, they are afraid that frost will destroy them. We hope that the material of our article will dissuade skeptics, and the ranks of those who plant onions in the fall will increase.
The main thing is to believe in yourself, follow the recommendations and everything will work out. Good luck everyone!